System for thermal management of a vehicle and method for vehicle cold start

Abstract

A method, comprising during a vehicle engine cold start, opening a first valve coupled between a first container containing an adsorbent and a second container containing an adsorbate, circulating a first fluid through a first conduit coupled to a first heat exchanger located within the first container and a second heat exchanger located outside the first container, and circulating a second fluid through a second conduit coupled to the second heat exchanger. In this way, heat may be generated at the adsorber during a cold start and subsequently transferred to the cooling jacket of the vehicle engine and/or other vehicle compartments, thereby decreasing the warm-up time for the engine.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 during a vehicle engine cold start:
 opening a first valve coupled between a first container containing an adsorbent and a second container containing an adsorbate to flow the adsorbate from the second container to the first container for adsorption at the adsorbent; 
 exchanging heat between the adsorbent in the first container and a first fluid by circulating the first fluid in a coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop through a first heat exchanger located within the first container and a second heat exchanger located outside the first container, the first heat exchanger thermally coupled with the adsorbent; and 
 exchanging heat between the first fluid and a second fluid by circulating the second fluid through a coolant circuit including the second heat exchanger. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , where circulating the second fluid through the coolant circuit further includes circulating the second fluid through a cooling jacket of a vehicle engine. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 allowing the vehicle engine to reach a predetermined running temperature; and then 
 stopping circulation of the first fluid in the coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 circulating a third fluid in a heat recovery loop through a third heat exchanger located within the first container and a fourth heat exchanger located outside the first container and thermally coupled to a waste heat source; 
 activating a fan coupled to the second container; 
 allowing the adsorbate in the second container to reach a predetermined threshold level; 
 closing the first valve; 
 stopping circulation of the third fluid; and 
 de-activating the fan coupled to the second container. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , where the waste heat source is an exhaust passage coupled to the vehicle engine. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 2 , where circulating the second fluid through the coolant circuit further includes circulating the second fluid through a radiator and a third container, where the third container is a reservoir containing the second fluid. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , where circulating the second fluid through the coolant circuit further includes circulating the second fluid through a heating circuit of the coolant circuit, the heating circuit including a heater core used for warming a passenger cabin of the vehicle. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , where the adsorbent is zeolite and the adsorbate is an aqueous solution. 
     
     
       9. A thermal management system for a vehicle, comprising:
 an adsorption thermal storage device comprising a first container including an adsorbent coupled via a first valve to a second container including an adsorbate; 
 a coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop in which a first coolant circulates, the coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop including a first heat exchanger located within the first container and a second heat exchanger located outside the first container, the first heat exchanger thermally coupled with the adsorbent; and 
 a coolant circuit in which a second coolant circulates, the coolant circuit including the second heat exchanger and a first warming target. 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a heat recovery loop in which a third coolant circulates, the heat recovery loop including a third heat exchanger located within the first container and a fourth heat exchanger located outside of the first container, the fourth heat exchanger thermally coupled with a waste heat source. 
 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 10 , where the coolant circuit further includes a second warming target and a third container, wherein the third container is a reservoir containing the second coolant. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a heating circuit, the heating circuit including a second valve and a third warming target, wherein the heating circuit is included in the coolant circuit when the second valve is open. 
 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a controller configured with instructions stored in memory for: in response to a request for heat for the first warming target, opening the first valve, circulating the first coolant through the coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop and circulating the second coolant through the coolant circuit. 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , where the controller is further configured with instructions stored in memory for: in response to a request for heat for the third warming target, opening the second valve, circulating the second coolant through the heating circuit, and activating a first fan coupled to the third warming target. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 13 , where the controller is further configured with instructions stored in memory for: in response to a level of adsorbate in the second container being below a first threshold, stopping circulation of the first coolant through the coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop, opening the first valve, circulating the third coolant through the heat recovery loop, activating a second fan coupled to the second container, allowing the level of adsorbate in the second container to reach a second threshold higher than the first threshold, closing the first valve and de-activating the second fan and stopping circulation of the third coolant through the heat recovery loop. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 14 , where the first warming target is a cooling jacket of a vehicle engine, the second warming target is a radiator and the third warming target is a heater core used for warming a passenger cabin of the vehicle. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 10 , where the waste heat source is an exhaust passage coupled to a vehicle engine, and the third coolant is a high temperature heat transfer fluid. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 9 , where the first warming target is a heater core used for warming a passenger cabin of the vehicle. 
     
     
       19. A warm-up system for a vehicle engine, comprising:
 an adsorption thermal storage device comprising an adsorber containing an adsorbent coupled via a valve to a fluid tank containing an adsorbate; 
 a coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop containing a first coolant, the coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop including a first heat exchanger located within the adsorber and a second heat exchanger located outside the adsorber; 
 a coolant circuit containing a second coolant, the coolant circuit including the second heat exchanger and further including a cooling jacket of the vehicle engine; and 
 a controller configured with instructions stored in memory for: in response to a cold start event, opening the first valve, circulating the first coolant through the coolant/adsorber heat exchange loop, and circulating the second coolant through the coolant circuit.